The Wisdom's daughter, the Mark of Athena
by Nobody426
Summary: "Wisdom's daughter walks alone, The Mark of Athena burns through Rome." To save Percy, Annabeth has to make an important choice: Saving Percy, or preserving both camps. As the gang sail to Greece, Gaea stirred and problem arises. Is Sammy Leo?
1. Chapter 1

**Mark of Athena**

**Annabeth I**

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**EVEN BEFORE ANNABETH WAS VISITED **by Gaea In Her Dreams, she already had a frustrated day.

Annabeth didn't know what to think. She was searching for Percy endlessly since his disappearance eight months ago, but so far, when it's finally time to meet him again, she was confused. A daughter of Athena, the smartest girl in the camp was confused. How ironic.

She missed him terribly, and she always recalled the day where he promised her _forever._ Now, eight months later, she was starting to doubt whether he kept his promise or not.

_Will he remember me? Did he… Fall in love with another girl?_ She knew that there was a very small chance that he would be unfaithful intentionally. After all, he gave up eternity for her.

She was nearly positive that he was in the Roman camp. All the work during the months—all built up to this moment! She doubted that there were any campers that were more excited than she was. No one understands her pain. No one did, perhaps with the exception of Sally Jackson.

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><p>Earlier that morning, an unusually enthusiastic Malcolm, her half-brother, waked her up. Malcolm was still her second-in-command even after her war, and he was getting really for college and spending the last summer at camp with other campers.<p>

Truthfully, Annabeth was never a morning person. The noise everyone was making at the ungodly hour in the morning was irritating her to no end. She didn't want to be disappointed again. She didn't need Leo to inform her that the ship was still not ready, and they couldn't sail to Greece, or more importantly—the Roman camp.

It was not until she was dragged by her cabin mates out the cabin door, and groggily looked up to the common area in between the cabins when she realized that the ship was done.

_DONE!_ After six months, she ought to admit that she was losing faith. The majestic _Argo II_ took everyone such much time. Hephaestus cabin spent endless hours in Bunker's 9, constructing the wonder. Athena cabin was the architects, although she didn't participate that much. She was already the official architect of Olympus, between her school, work, and finding her boyfriend, she didn't have much time left.

The ship looked just like Leo's painting from his childhood. Festus's head was in the very front, polished metal looking proudly into the sky, daring anyone to challenge it. Argo II was inscribed into the ship's sides, and Camp Half-Blood was carved into the pillars. A few campers were on the deck, hoisting the giant white flag to the collars, assuring the Romans that they came in peace.

Annabeth let out an uneasy sigh. _Seaweed Brain, wherever you are, stay put. I'm coming for you._

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><p>After sailing miles and miles in the clear sky with the help of the Mist, Annabeth felt the Roman camp.<p>

Actually, to be accurate, she felt the Roman camp's borders. The magic in the air shimmered, and a wave of uncharted energy flow through everyone's veins. Vaguely, she noticed how Jason's hand tightened on the rail, but she paid no attention to it. Her focus was trying to find that one heck of a seaweed brain.

Blond hair, blue eyes, a person clutched an ex-stuffed unicorn—No. Brown hair, dark complexion, and… Is that a ruby? No. She hadn't seen her before, although that girl did look familiar…. Especially her dark vibe.

She was getting frustrated as she scanned the crowd. Come on, black hair, sea-green eyes, was he that hard to find? _Is Percy even in the camp?_

It was not long before she spotted Tyson at the back of the crowd, chatting with the girl-with-dark-vibe and another big, Asian guy holding arrows. She was proud of Tyson for making new friends already.

With a sudden jolt, the ship halted in the sky, then proceeded to land. Greek fire and magic fueled the ship, thanks to Hecate cabin and Nico DiAngelo trying to find underground sources.

The Roman under them cleared out for the ship to land. Although they didn't attack or fire anything that could potentially endanger everyone on the ship, the spears and arrows were drawn and nocked, ready to attack when it was necessary.

When she scanned through the crowd, she noticed something else beside the campers and the weapons. There were… Adults. Kids. Infants. Toddlers! Such a scene would never be seen in camp half-blood. But why?

Evidently, these adults are all demigods, or they must have contained godly blood in their veins. Otherwise, how are they able to cross the camp borders? She could see the couple that were embracing each other, the father that held the child tightly in the family.

How could they achieve adulthood, more over, how were they able to raise a family in camp? The training grounds were not exactly the ideal place to raise children…

"Graeci! Greeks! They are attacking us! Fire on my mark! I repeat, Graeci!" Something interrupted Annabeth in her train of thought. She hated it when people interrupt when she was about to make sense of something. Who dared to—?

_A statue?_ On the campgrounds, a white polished statue of some_one_ was yelling. It could have been waving its arms and prance around if it had any arms. _I must be nuts._

"Oh shut up Terminus. Don't make me regret in giving you the privilege of knocking out sewer smelling giants."

Annabeth swerved her vision to the person who was talking. She nearly laughed at the ridiculous sight—after all these months, the person she was trying to find was wearing a bed sheet with a purple cloak, pointing his sword threateningly at a 3 feet statue. Yep, no one could find a better way to reunite with her boyfriend.

Standing there in all his glory was the one and only, Percy Jackson.

**Who's POV do you want to read beside Annabeth's?**

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan! I don't own PJO! This is my original fanfiction!**

**Please drop a review, **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Mark of Athena**

Woot! The 14 reviews I received really made me happy. So here's my gift to all of you.

I hope that you'll enjoy, and perhaps drop a review or two.

**Annabeth II**

**ANNABETH FROZE LIKE ONE OF MEDUSA'S STATUES.** In her mind, she had already gone through this situation or scenario multiple times. She would meet Percy in the Roman camp, tackle him, and fuss about how he left her alone. (Like an Aphrodite girl) Or maybe she could act indifferent, forcing him to make the first move. (Like an average Athenian camper) Perhaps even punching him lightly on the arm—

Annabeth mentally shut down the gears in her brain. _This is it. Seaweed Brain's here! This is definitely not a time to try out new ways from Dummies For Reunions. _Panic built with her, and she was still staring at him, willing him to look at her.

Percy was often the one thing that she was frustrated about. Aside from his tendency to get in trouble, offend the gods and make enemies, she could never truly figure him out. She just couldn't find out what that brain of his was thinking, despite all that time they spent together.

He is as unpredictable as the weather channel. If the weatherman says it's sunny, bring an umbrella. If you think you gained the upper hand in swordplay against him, then prepare to lose once he starts his signature moves.

Line break

After only two minutes, the whole crew gathered up around _Argo II_'s entrance, ready to confront whatever would be thrown at them.

Jason walked out holding a white flag as a representative item of truce, while Piper, Leo and Annabeth followed immediately after him. They were the only ones that were elected to come.

The tension in the air thickened and multiplied, clearly tangible. Neither side was making a noise, holding the deafening silence as long as they could.

The Romans had kept their tensed attack poses at long as they could, and the four shifted uneasily under all the stares, peeks and the occasionally glares. All was quiet until—

Percy returned from putting Terminus back on the column, and met Annabeth's gaze. His sword dropped in a big "Clang!" and everyone's eyes swerved to look at him. It lasted a few seconds until Octavian, look smug, snickered loudly before nudging one of his companions and muttered something in their ears.

Annabeth decided that she hates Octavian. _Poor kid, you do not want to get on my bad side… FOCUS! Curse my ADHD… _

In that brief moment when Annabeth once again looked at his sea green eyes, nearly all of her worries dissipated into the air. He _remembers _her. She could see the relief and satisfaction from his eyes, the longing that mirrored in her own. She knew that he remembered everything, from her first remark, "You drool when you sleep," to the latest good night kiss.

Seaweed Brain immediately retrieved his sword from the ground, blushed, then hurried to smooth out the bed sheet. He sent an apologize look to Annabeth, _I'll talk to you in a second, _then walked up to the other purple-caped person in the camp.

Percy cleared his throat, then walked up to Jason with Reyna, who was in the very front.

This Percy Jackson was only seen in battles, Annabeth concluded. This Percy is more… Professional, not the usual goofy one she spent time with. He walked in an air of confidence, like a leader of an army.

"Hi, I'm Percy Jackson, son of Neptune, Praetor of Camp Jupiter. You must be—"

"Jason Grace, son of Zeus." He accepted Percy's hand and shook firmly. "Everyone talked about you in camp."

"Ditto." Percy replied, whispering. Then he announced out loud, "Welcome to Camp Jupiter, Greeks." He nodded at each of them, throwing a wink at Annabeth's direction. _Still the same 'o Seaweed Brain… With the same 'o antics…_

"As you might have heard about the prophecy and Hera's plan, the two camps have to work together to help defeat the giants and Gaea." Percy started, motioning Reyna to continue.

"Therefore, the Greeks are here with their ship, ready to sail to Greece and Rome with the three destined demigods from our side. Please treat them as you would other campers." Reyna turned to Jason, holding him by his shoulder. "And let's welcome Jason Grace, son of Jupiter back to Camp Jupiter!"

Once Reyna finished her little speech, the crowd cheered loudly, a few of them walking up to Jason and patting his shoulders.

"Thanks everyone for your support! I'm glad to be home." Jason started. "We plan to start the trip in a few day's time, and we will be sleeping on Argo II. Meanwhile, it'll be wise for you to decide who will be the other three companions for our journey. Thank you again! I've missed you all!" Jason finished up while declining Dakota's offer for Kool Aid.

People started to go back to their workstations, while only a few remained. Jason went to Reyna and started a conversation, but Annabeth couldn't care less.

_Percy…_ "Annabeth!" Said Seaweed Brain shouted, pushing away his cape while running up to her. He held her by the shoulders, exclaiming her.

"Man! I can't believe it! Eight months, Annabeth, eight months! I think I understood your strong dislike for Jun— I mean Hera now."

"Doesn't matter, Seaweed rain. We can deal with her later. Right now…" She got on her tiptoes and gave him a small kiss. "We talk. You have a lot to explain to me."

_Perhaps tonight, _Annabeth thought, _I could finally sleep well._ She had no idea how wrong she was.

As Reyna led Jason to his old living quarters with Piper tagging along, and Percy taking Annabeth to a relatively hidden place that could only access by the praetors, all of them didn't realize Leo Valdez, fire user extraordinaire was staring at the one and only daughter of Pluto, Hazel Levesque.

**Special thanks to you all who spent time and typed me a lengthy review. I'll get back to all of you eventually once I got time.**

**The POV will switch between three characters, Annabeth, Leo, and ? Suggestions to the third person are welcome.**

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><p><em>WANT SOME AWESOME PJO CAMP NECKLACES? OR CAMP HALF-BLOODJUPITER T-SHIRTS? _

_Then visit wwwdotetsydotcom(/)shop(/)Nobody426_

_Using CAMPCOMBO1 will get you 10% off all purchases! _


	3. Chapter 3

**The Mark of Athena**

**I know you really want the update, but I have a life too, you know? Especially with me struggling with the math tests. I really tried. Just be glad that it's up only half an hour after midnight. Part of the reason was the **Leo's humor **was just so hard to get it right! I didn't think I archieved it.**

**I made some camp half blood necklaces. How much do you think is a reasonable price?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, HoO or anything by Rick Riordan.**

**Leo III**

**LEO SAW THE GIRL IN HIS DREAMS.** Quite literally too. Aside from her perfect brown curly hair, he saw her on multiple occasions. The demigod dreams he kept getting a while ago before he attended the Wilderness School (he could have sworn he saw her with Nico diAngelo), and… In the old family photo albums before his mother died.

His was seven years old when his mother took out the albums and told him the story behind each of them. There were photos when he was a baby, photos from his mother's childhood, the back and white ones from his grandparents' time, and—The distorted ones from his great-grandfather, Sammy Valdez.

From what his mother told him, Sammy Valdez was a curious family member. His mother never really met Sammy, as he died of a heart attack before she could remember anything about him. From what little she was told, Sammy loved to make jokes and has a unique perspective of life. Always happy-go-lucky, trying to cheer up everyone around him.

There weren't many photos from Sammy. With a few wedding pictures here and there, all the others were from his teen hood. Those were the older pictures, and Leo remembered tracing the yellow edges delicately with his eight year-old hands.

The image was a blur, but Leo could always make out the happy features on the girl and the mischievous emotions from the boy, both sitting in front of a… Gypsy store? Leo's mother told him that his great-grandmother always wanted to burn that few pictures, but Sammy's insistence made her eventually give up on the idea.

Leo didn't know what to say, what could have been. Of course, he probably wouldn't be here if Sammy never left the un-named girl and never moved to Texas. They could have lived happily ever after, have kids, and grow old together. He had no idea what made the girl disappear from Sammy's life just like that.

The intense staring from someone shook him back to reality. _What now? More audience to the 'freak' show?_ But his instinct told him it was all right, and he lifted his head to meet the girl's intense gaze.

_It was she, _Leo thought, _it was definitely she. But how was it… Possible? It's been what, seventy years? _Unless he is gravely misguided, or that somehow she went through a time machine, he didn't see how it was possible in anyway.

It was not just that. Aside from the girl being his great-grandfather's ex-girlfriend, he felt that he had a bond with her. Not some cheesy lovey-dovey bond or anything, it was something deeper than that—something that cannot be broken by death itself.

He saw her shaking off the arm of a baby-faced Asian boy and walked towards him. He could feel that pull thickening, and he was sure she could feel it too.

_She was shorter the last time I saw her…_ Wait, where did that come from? Leo was sure. In fact, he was confused. He had the brief flash of the girl trying to race with him on the horse, her laughter, the first kis—

"Leo?" The brown-haired girl asked, reviving him from his thoughts.

"Uh… Yes?" A brief expression flashed on his face before he put on his trademark-charming smile. "How may I help you, —"

"Hazel. Daughter of Pluto, nice to meet you." She gave him a small smile. "Sorry if I freaked you out. I'm not that good with people."

"Neither am I. I'm a son of Hephaestus, so I'm only generally good around machines and stuff. That's me, Leo Valdez, at your service." He tried shooting the girl—Hazel Levesque a mischievous grin, something he remembered doing so many years ago, perhaps even lifetimes… That's impossible. Only people he actually introduced himself to were Piper and Jason. Other people never cared.

"So, uh… You cool with me being Greek and all?" Leo asked, attempted to lighten up the mood. The tension was nearly tangible in the air; awkwardness was practically vibrating his brain.

"Yeah. My bro— Nah, nothing, and I just think that Greeks are cool and all. I mean a lot of the Roman customs came from Greece." She paused, and looked around. Leo couldn't tell what she was looking at, but he noticed that she was staring at the soil and concentrating/glaring at it. He doesn't mind as long as she was potentially trying to hurt Gaea.

"Anyways. Did you build the ship? It's amazing!" _Yeah, sure. Great topic change. _Leo thought. But he believed that she must be a reason behind it or something; she doesn't hate him that much, right?

"Yeah. My dragon," Leo nodded at the metal dragonhead at the very front of Argos II, "Festus was shot down last Christmas. Ever since then, I started to lead everyone from the Hephaestus cabin and Athena cabin to build this ship. Of course, as the supreme commander of Argo II—"

"Or the Repair boy," Hazel corrected while Leo gave a little scowl.

"I had to make sure everything's working right, and running smooth. Festus will be the witness for our sail to the old civilizations. You wanna come in and take a peek?" Leo asked, leading her to the doorway.

"Sure." By Hazel's amazement, Leo could tell that Hazel was thoroughly impressed. He was glad, aside from the weird hunches, he genuinely liked her.

"So…" Leo started, "Have you been a camper for a long time?"

"Nah, just got here a few months before Jason's disappearance. You?"

"New recruit for Camp Half-Blood too. Went on a quest, saved Beauty Queen's dad and all that good stuff."

They went to the deck together, not knowing anything about the shadow that just passed them.

"Is Camp Half-Blood similar to Camp Jupiter?" Hazel asked as the ship let out a shudder and she stifled a scream.

Leo immediately sprung out and sprinted to the control room. He pushed pass everything else in the room until he stopped in front of his chair.

"Control panels are all good, engines are working just fine. What's the problem?" Leo looked around, finally spotting the red blinking lights in the corner. "Shoot." He muttered a few Greek curses as he walked to the device.

"Someone damaged the transversal device from Greek fire to fuel." He turned and told Hazel. "Somebody didn't want us to sail to Greece." Then his expression turned grave.

"And that somebody is among us."

**Well, since I got so many reviews, please clarify by adding a * to your comment if you wish for a reply. I'll try to get back to all of you eventually though. :)**

**My friend's father's friend knows Rick Riordan. Now I'm jealous. I'm going to tell you all about it when I find him.**

**Okay, here's the deal. The last person for my POVs would either be Nico, or Jason. Not decided yet. Sorry folks, I love Percy, but we already have Annabeth.**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Mark of Athena**

Camp Half Blood Necklaces and T-shirts for sale: (www).etsy.(com)/listing/84453271/(camp-half-blood-necklace) Just remove all the '(' and ')'s. Fandom doesn't allow any external links.

**Leo IV**

**LEO HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO** with what suspiciously looked like a stuffed animal's guts on his supreme commander chair.

After he turned his chair to pull up the blueprint for another transversal device from the control panel, Hazel pushed him out of the way to inspect the white fibrous hairs and the traces of brown fabrics.

"Ow!" Leo complained while rubbing his sore side, "Give me a warning next time if you decided to shove me off my chair! I'm not that bad as a captain, right?"

"Leo, look!" Hazel ignored his comment, pointing to the white mass. "I recognized this, wasn't that Bearbert Einstein? The kid's gonna be so disappointed…"

Leo closely inspected the remains of the used-to-be teddy bear, giving it the brief moment of silence for its tragic death. Who would do that to an innocent bear? Someone would soon have a field day applying for stuff animals' rights…

"Must be Octavian… He is the only one with any reason whatsoever to dissect a stuffed animal…" Hazel muttered to herself, lost in her thoughts.

"Octavian? Who's that? Julius Caesar's nephew? He came back alive from that cursed door of death too?" Leo asked incredulously, "Since when did he become the god of stuffed animals?"

"No," Hazel returned her attention to Leo, "Octavian, the legacy of Apollo, and the augur of Camp Jupiter. Specialized in reading stuffed animals' guts to tell the future, give out prophecy or the gods' orders. Basically, the jerk that wants power and everyone else to bow to him."

"Wow, nice guy." Leo commented simply, overlooking the files again.

"I'm going to tell the Senate, Leo. They're going to investigate it. Octavian must have planned to sabotage the trip. Wait here." Hazel rambled on, and left before Leo could fully comprehend what she was saying.

Leo knew that there's a big chance that Octavian wasn't the one who took the device. Why would he even approach the chair and leave the evidence on such an obvious place? _Someone must have been trying to frame him… _Leo decided. _Someone who actually knows about the structure of the ship. Nobody could find the command room before knowing where it is before hand—it was specially designed to be placed at a somewhat hidden place, making it hard for the monsters to invade. _

Aside from those facts, he could have sworn the shadow moved without an object casting it in the first place. Who could have done that? Only someone invisible…

Chucking the stacks of paper aside, he couldn't find the blueprint for the transversal device at all. There was a folder especially for the designs since that device was particularly important. The plans, early sketches, mechanics information and the special parts for the system… All gone. Whoever tried to sabotage their plans must be desperate.

Leo swore to find out the culprit. It's time for him to stand out of everybody's shadows.

Line break

The dinner that night was hectic for Leo. Other than the two-hundred some cold glares aimed at Leo, Jason, and the two others, there weren't any warmth or welcome from his half siblings, or the lighten mood that always seemed to be hanging around Camp Half-Blood.

Percy was with Reyna somewhere down there on the Praetor table, and the rest of them were given a small table to eat.

The food was great, truth to be told. Just that the dryads were no longer here delivering dinner. Instead, the invisible aurae were floating around and giving people whatever they wanted.

_At least they weren't giggling like mad…_ Leo thought. He had an awful time fending off dryads in Camp Half-Blood.

Leo looked around the table at his comrades. There's Jason and Piper, sitting together, talking and chatting happily, like the fact that they were on enemies territories didn't bother them a bit. Even Jason wasn't unsettled by the other campers' attention that was spent on him, perhaps he was used to it by now, being a son of Jupiter and all.

Truthfully, sometimes Leo felt resentful and bitter—nobody cared about him, just another kid with freakish powers that could potentially be dangerous. Why bother with him? A son of Hephaestus—he was nothing better to anybody but his blacksmith skills.

But Annabeth was another story.

She was a bit pale—in fact, she's paler than before they reached Camp Jupiter. Isn't she supposed to be happy that they finally found her long lost boyfriend who she was trying to find for months? Leo could see that she was putting on a façade for Percy Jackson. She was trying to hide something—and Leo wanted to know. He saw the expression on Hazel earlier too.

Talking about Hazel, Leo couldn't see her anywhere. In fact, he haven't seen her since she left earlier—

"Annabeth Chase!" A blond kid walked in with a torn used-to-be bunny. _It must be Octavian_, Leo thought, _what would he be doing here?_

Hazel was trailing behind him, trying to suppress the augur.

"Annabeth Chase," Octavian snarled, "You were trying to frame me. Guards!" He smirked as he snapped his fingers.

**Was it too dramatic? Thoughts on the plot? Feedbacks are very welcome.**

**Semi-formal yesterday in my school-made me completely heart-broken. Blame the late update on him, it's all _his_ fault... And also the evil Biology paper. Yep...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Mark of Athena**

I sincerely appreciate the reviews that kept me moving. The week was hectic and stressful, and it's only Tuesday. I'm usually not the one to say this but... **Reviews** are greatly appreciated right now, especially ones that makes me smile and get me through the day. Those are my only mental support...

**Nico V**

**OF COURSE NICO DIANGELO'S DAY HAD TO BE RUINED **by some crazy talking dirt/maniac who was still asleep. Thanks the gods for that too, who knew what Gaea could do to him if she was awake? Anyways, it wasn't the best day for him.

Actually, he didn't have a good day in a few days, ever since he was captured… However, he did know that Death was finally released. He could feel the normal snapping noises by his ears again. He was even gladder that Hazel wasn't taken, and silently prayed and gave his dad his thanks.

He didn't tell a lot of people about this, but the fact that he finally found a lead for searching the Door of Death made him work even harder for it. And now, he could only blame himself that he went to investigate without any preparation. He could have paid his life for this trip! And he still could have…

However, since Death returned, it was harder on his part to search for the Door of Death. Monsters, demigods, mortals and whatnot stop coming back alive randomly, and his senses for the resurrected people no longer worked. But he was just so close! He could have—

"Ack!" He cried as the stale loaf of rock, excuse me—bread hit his head. He had no idea why _they _kept him alive, and he wasn't very sure that he wanted to know. He was fairly certain that whatever they were up to was definitely not good news for him.

The past few days were hectic—he was moved from cell to cell, jail to jail, day and night. Since two days ago, or what he thought it was, they had left him there to settle on the cold, slimy rocks. He couldn't see what made it so slimy, he didn't _want _to know. At least it was better than the bloody cell he shared with a corpse—he could still _smell _the blood on him. _Yuck._

_Wait… Couldn't see anything…. Where the heck did that 'bread' come?_ With a few painful bites, he chewed up the 'softer' parts of the rock like bread and used his eyes to scan the area. He tapped into the powers he inherited from his father and felt around for undead warriors and the Earth itself.

He had to give whoever kidnapped him some credit—they had thoroughly thought it out beforehand. There wasn't any light to cast shadows, so he couldn't possibly shadow travel out of there. The whole duration after he was kidnapped was lived without any light or whatsoever.

But there must be a source for that bread. Food doesn't just fall from the sky, or the ceiling. There must be an exit, he just had to find it.

That's it. He's going to climb the thing. Although he wasn't the best at rock climbing, (and got a bazillion scars from the lava wall in Camp Half-Blood) he was going to try his luck and see if it'd work. Fates ought to be on his side once or twice, right?

He hooked one of his feet onto the less-slimier side of the walls, and tried to search for a groove that his hands can hold on to.

_Quick! He had to go before his father discovered what he was intending and planning to do for months! He even learned how to play the flute just for this! The door of Orpheus opened to the music as usual, giving him access to the Underworld. Time was running out, and the fact that his father might be around didn't calm his nerve at all._

Another foot. Slowly, Nico hoist himself up bits by bits. He was starving, and exhaustion was catching up to him. He spent all the hours looking for potential exists, and he didn't dare to close his eyes. Who knew what those people (wait, monsters) might do to him.

"_Bianca! Answer me! I have come to save you! Resurrect you! Together we could live like we always did!" Nico pushed through the spirits that were crowding around him, he had only one goal—find Bianca and bring her back. This time, he didn't need any additional sacrifices. With all the souls escaping, it was only right that he sneaked his sister back._

A slip. Nico breathed heavily while he tried to right himself back up, and continued the climb.

_There was an aura—one that only children of Hades possess. That's it! His sister, he could finally bring her back! He knew it'd work, he planned it for so many months, and he was fairly certain that—_

"Ach!" One of the sharp and ragged rocks cut his sweaty palm. He was surprised that the slime didn't cover that area and made it smooth enough so that the rocks couldn't penetrate. It was awful—the sharp edges of the rocks started to emerge, and he had no guidance as to where to climb but his senses and his hands. The only good thing was the slime no longer covered anywhere.

_He walked near the girl, but he knew something was wrong, he could only see the back of the figure, but that brown hair was definitely not her sisters. The girl possesses a similar shade of his olive skin, but by then, he was already positive that the lonely person was not his sister. _

"A few more steps… Come on Nicky! You can do this!" Nico tried to cheer himself on. By this point, he didn't know how high it is into the jail. He didn't care. He would try anything to get out of there.

_The girl turned and Nico held in a gasp. She almost had Bianca's face. But nobody would ever have Bianca's smile, the smile the diAngelo siblings both have that was inherited from their mother. If only Bianca was there…_

"Ahh!" Nico's foot caught on one of the rocks and he slid down against the rock wall, gaining a few more cuts. He managed a roll at the last second to decrease impact from falling.

"Ach! I need to stop getting myself distracted." Nico shook his head and murmured to himself, all the while inspecting the grayish green slime that was now mixed with his blood. And—

_Wait, _Nico gave a double take, _I can see now…? _

In confusion, he slowly lifted his head to the apparition that was providing the light source, and stumbled backwards as he took in a deep, shaking breath.

"Hi Nicky, need a hand?" The ghost of Bianca smiled at Nico, reaching forwards to hoist him back up to his feet.

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><p>... And CUT! That's it for now folks, I need to stop procrastinating on my persuasion speech "Why not procrastinate" and a billion other homework assignments and tests. Oh yes, this chapter was only here thanks to the heart-warming reviews from <em>confidential<em> and a few others-THANKS!


	6. Chapter 6

**The Mark of Athena**

**Nico VI**

To my fans: I'm sincerely sorry that this is so late. Some of my reviewers bombard me with words that really, really hurt. I'm sorry if I couldn't write as well as Rick can, and I do this just for fun. You don't have to read this and 'waste your time' if you don't want to. TO ALL MY AWESOME READERS, thank you for sticking me all the way till now.

I know this is not a very good chapter, but the next one is going to be gold. Just wait and see. Read on!

**NICO JUMPED BACK AS IF HE SAW A GHOST.** Hands shaking, he brushed his hair away from his pale forehand and reluctantly accepted her hand.

"Bianca! I thought— They said that you went to River Lethe, washed out your memories and tried for rebirth! Why are you here?"

Nico felt silly blurting out questions. He wasn't like that, not since… Bianca's death, so many years ago. For once in years, he felt like a kid, the lost kid who had no one but his sister and the set of Mythomagic cards.

"Nikki, you have to understand. I had to ensure that you give up trying to bring me back from the dead, or stay with me for that matter. Communicating with the dead isn't healthy, you needed more friends and companionships up there."

"Then why can't I bring you back to our friends? Like Hazel! She's doing just fine there. Why can't I… No one even needs to be sacrificed this time."

Bianca gave him a bitter smile and shook her head slightly. "Oh Nikki, how I miss you… Us diAngelos are cursed. Always cursed. Perhaps even worse than Hazel's curse. We… Are meant to be in the Underworld. It's the Fates. I am not meant to be brought back alive. And yes, I didn't want you to linger in the Underworld for too long a time, not when you can enjoy the Sun."

"Then why are you talking to me right now? Not that I'm not grateful or anything. You're very welcome to try and fish me out of this place."

"Nico," Bianca bit her lip, "There's something I have to tell you. Please don't freak out."

"Why about it?"

"I… Perhaps I should show you." Bianca glanced at her brother, then said, "Go to that wall in front of it. Go right up to it."

With a confused gaze, Nico did what his sister told him.

"Now what? Use my amazing inherited 4000 attacking points from Hades?" Nico cracked a small smile despite the situation; he missed his sister so much.

Bianca gave him another smile, and then turned quite solemn. She tugged her hair a bit, smoothing it against her olive skin. "Try walking through it."

"Okay, I'l—_What_?" Nico turned to Bianca, confused.

"Walk through it." Bianca repeated.

"Don't be ridiculous, sis." Nico ran a hand through the solid yet slimy surface. "It's harder than a rock, they probably had some special material built in. I can't even break it with my sword."

"Trust me."

Nico threw her a confusing glance, and she shook her head. "Trust me, little brother, you know I will do you no harm."

Nico sheathed his sword and closed his eyes, ready to step through the wall.

"Oh, just wait a minute!"

"Now what?"

"Just remember, I love you, alright? And I did my best to help."

"Okay."

Although Nico is not very social, and he doesn't know much about how the rest of the world works, he's pretty sure that one's sister doesn't simply tell her brother to walk through a wall.

And one doesn't simply _walk through a wall._ He thought it'd be harder; at least, the wall was solid the last time he checked. As solid as it could be.

No magic, no Greek gods' influence, and definitely not Platform 3 and 4/9 or whatever from a book called Harry Potter or something. Rachel tried to tell him about it once. But demigods and reading simply does not mix.

It was like walking through shadows, except it felt very thick. And cold. But he was used to the cold in the Underworld anyways and it didn't matter much. It just left a numb sensation in his stomach.

He walked through the wall again and looked at Bianca. Turning back, he poked the wall again with his sword. Still solid. Then how can the wall be intangible all of a sudden? Why now of all times? Did his sister do something? Did—

He looked at Bianca—still transparent. He looked down at himself, only to see the semi-light glow that started to emit from him. At the same time, his black bloodstained t-shirt started to look like the stone wall behind him too.

Horror struck, he slowly looked up to stare at Bianca.

"Face it, Nikki… You're… You're dead."

"…Oh."

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><p>Review are very welcome, really! It makes me write a lot faster.<p>

I post **NEW CHAPTERS** on different sites, such as **TUMBLR. **or **DEVIANTART. **Sometimes even **BLOGSPOT.** I am **Nobody426 everywhere.** Find me and perhaps you can read a chapter before everyone else.


	7. Chapter 7

**Mark of Athena**

Yay, I'm not dead! (But I'm about to be since finals are in a week!) Sorry for the long wait... It's just that my life sorta fell apart with all the crap dumped at me, but now that Tennis season finally ended, maybe I can write more... Given that anyone still wants to read it, that is.

**WANT SOME AWESOME PJO CAMP NECKLACES? OR CAMP HALF-BLOOD/JUPITER T-SHIRTS? OR EVEN SOME SIMPLE JEWELRIES?**

**Then visit wwwdotetsydotcom(/)shop(/)Nobody426**

**Using CAMPCOMBO1 as a coupon code will get you 10% off all purchases!**

**Annabeth VII**

** ANNABETH CHASE WAS DEFINITELY NOT AMUSED** by the dreams that she received from Gaea. Well, at least that's who she thought the culprit was. She was having nightmares, dreams so dark that woke her up frequently during nights. When she felt the loneliest, when everyone was asleep and she knew that she had no one to talk to. When she was at her weakest moments.

Rest of the time, when the scenes of her friends' and family's deaths were not flashing in front of her eyes, she was filled with a void deep and dark. Everything was spinning… And spinning and falling out of control…

She really didn't know what to do. The Choice was approaching, and she knew that it wouldn't be as easy as the last time around… _Stupid hubris._ Annabeth just hoped that both of them would get out alive once again.

"… Annabeth!" Annabeth blinked at the sudden movement, and focused her attention on Percy. All she could see was the goofy grin she missed so much, his black hair still messy and unkempt after days in the Roman camp. He was no longer wearing the toga-wanna-be bedsheet, but she couldn't care less.

"Oh Wise Girl, you're going to love this!" Percy's sea green eyes lit up, happiness evident in them.

"Love what?"

Instead of answering Annabeth, he tilted a little to her right, and held her right hand. He tugged them both onto the green hilltop, and easily climbed on one of the rocks.

Annabeth followed, and she suppressed a gasp as saw the beautiful scenery.

"So… What do you think?" Percy asked from her right as he shifted to hold her.

In front of them, an entire city spread out in front of her. Annabeth caught nothing but small glimpses at the renewed Roman city, but now as she scanned it in detail, it was a dream come true for her. There's children chasing the pigeons by the fountains, teenagers playing soccer and Frisbee by the far field, couples taking a walk by the pond and… _Is that an university?_

True. There isn't the famed lake that everyone falls into. Nor is there the beach that they shared their kiss or the familiar Big House. But this, this magnificent city revived from so long ago… Somewhere they could stay forever and ever till they grow old together…

"…It's beautiful, Percy." Percy nods and grinned. Then they both leaned in, and shared a soft kiss. Now that nobody was around, they didn't have to worry about their reputations getting ruined. It was a slow and longing one, one that they deserved after waiting for so many months. _Too bad it can't last, Gaea will— The_ little voice in her head said. _She can go rot in Tartarus for all I care, I'd like to see her try and interfere this._

"I miss you so much, Wise Girl."

"Me too, Seaweed Brain, me too…" Annabeth stayed in his arms and quietly cried into his chest as he stroke her hair, remembering her from what seemed all way too long ago. "I was so scared," Annabeth continued, "I thought you didn't remember me… When Jason showed up, I thought— But he didn't remember anything either."

"Oh, Annabeth. I'd give up the world for you. But you know that don't you?" Percy turned Annabeth around and looked at her.

"I never remembered you, Annabeth," Pain and horror suddenly filled her face, her eyes widening, "Because I never forgot you in the first place."

Annabeth laughed as she wiped her tears off her face and punched Percy in the arm.

"Ow!" Percy pouted, acting hurt.

"Oh, shut up, not like it hurts you anymore, Wonder Boy."

"Well… I did lose my invulnerability."

"What?"

"…It's… Kinda a long story, involved an old hag—" Thunder boomed in the distant sky but Percy merely glared at the source. "Some desperate ladies selling me cereal, and a heck of a water display."

"But you came out alive anyways, so that's good enough for me." Annabeth gave up trying to keep Percy out of trouble a long time ago.

"So how's everything back home?" Percy asked suddenly, remembering his frustration when he couldn't even reach his mother.

"Chiron was really worried, and there's quite a few groups trying to find you. Artemis's Hunters, Argus, then there's Butch—"

"Butch?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabeth laughed, "Yeah, Butch. And he is the son of Iris, but don't ever make fun of him! Travis and Connor did… And let's just say they hated to be a chameleon."

"Iris was nice… I liked her R.O.F.L…" Percy chuckled, remembering his quest with Hazel and Frank. They he asked softly, "How's my mother? And Paul? Are they handling it okay?"

Annabeth stared at Percy, wondering how much she should tell Percy right now. He didn't need a freak out attack right then, but she had to tell them.

"They were fine, and both of them really, really missed you, you know? And…"

"And?" Percy prompted, suddenly anxious with what Annabeth was about to tell her. _Both of them are healthy right? No cancer or accidents or anything, oh my gods what if they—_

Annabeth put her hands on Percy's, "Calm down Perce, its good news. You've got a baby sister!"

"Wait, what? But I thought, but they, what? I mean, that's great, but Dad he, what?" Percy jerked up and spread his hands around emphasizing his surprise.

Annabeth shook her head, _still the same, old Percy._ "A mortal baby sister."

"Oh… I see. Okay. Cool. But does that mean—"

"Perseus!" They turned and they saw a random purple shirt camper running towards them.

"I've got news!" Panting, the camper wiped his sweat on his soaked t-shirt. "From Nico diAngelo, it's an emgency!"

**So... Comments? Now that they made the review button blue and awesome, I seriously suggest you click on it to make me happy. Because my life is boring without you guys! (and also make me feel loved since my crush's obviously still not gonna do anything... )**

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	8. Chapter 8

**The Mark of Athena**

**Annabeth VIII**

Anonymous: Fake and gay. The real first chapter starts out with exploding statues and back up plans for back up plans for back up plans

Well, excuse you for being so idiotic! What are you even doing on if you don't know what _fanfiction _means? It's okay that some of you confused this with the _real _The Mark of Athena. I'll merely accept that as a compliment, although my writing style is quite different from his. But calling this 'gay'? Gay means 'happy', or 'homosexuality', not a word for you to insult everyone with. Talk to me again (actually, on a second thought, don't)when you stop being such an idiot.

**For those who appreciated my fanfiction, I send my sincere thanks. Without your encouragement, I don't think this fanfiction will continue thus far. Thanks.**

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><p><strong>ANNABETH REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK <strong>when Gaea's big and ugly face appeared in front of her.

After Percy left with a hurried, "Nico owed me some explanations", she settled herself on the rock to just think about what to do next and what not, but then _she _came and ruined the party. Didn't she have enough fun in her dreams last night? And the night before—_what more did she want?_

Gaea's words came back to Annabeth: _Beware Annabeth, this is your last warning… Perseus will perish provided that he arrives Rome or Greece in the first place. Prevent his journey, and you may just save his life…. _

Of course Annabeth wasn't stupid. She knew this was a trick—why would Gaea keep any of them alive after she destroys the Western Civilization?

But she is not so sure now. Percy did say that Gaea found him very amusing… Correct? And Annabeth would do anything in a heartbeat if that means she gets to keep Percy alive. Especially after just now, when she truly realized how much she missed him; how much she loves him.

The ground twisted and the mud sculpted into a gigantic sleeping woman. A gigantic, sleeping, _ugly_, clay woman.

Annabeth tightened her fist on her dagger, but she knew it wouldn't do anything to the Earth Goddess. She could see Gaea's eyelids moving, almost fluttering as if she was waking up.

_Oh no, not this again…_

Annabeth braced herself.

"So, Annabeth Chase. Have you made up your mind yet?" Annabeth kept quiet, gears turning furiously as she debated with herself.

"Don't you want to save Perseus' life?" Her face twisted again, showing a muddy smirk to Annabeth.

"What, and destroy both camps? I am not that selfish." Stated Annabeth defiantly against Gaea.

"Oh, little girl. We both know how much you love that boy. I see _everything_. You cannot hide from me."

Annabeth didn't know exactly how to respond to that. Right now was definitely not a time to blush and stutter.

"You have no idea what are out there, my dear girl. Monsters, giants, and my children… You don't have the tiniest idea how bad things can go."

"And if I don't cooperate?" Annabeth tested the waters.

"Then Perseus and the other six prophesized campers die. And of course, you are one of them." _And if I do cooperate, the Giants will gather their strength and Gaea will stir, causing the Western Civilization to fall, permanently._ Annabeth thought to herself.

"Of course, I'm not going to force you into submission of any kind." Gaea continued in her sickly hoarse voice. "You do have a choice, and I will leave the tools behind if you think I am correct."

With another mud splash, the Earth spat out a gut-less cotton thing that looked suspiciously like a Panda Pet, and several screwdrivers and bolts. Annabeth knew exactly what Gaea wanted her to do with them.

"But of course, I am always right." Gaea said as the mud twisted back to normal, her voice echoed hollowly behind.

_Oh no, oh no! _This was not the choice she wanted to make any time soon, let alone today. She cannot make the sacrifice, nor could she risk the safety of the camp potentially. She knew she couldn't be so selfish, but she desperately wanted to be.

_Oh Percy… What should I do?_

But of course she couldn't consult him. All he'll do is to freak and insist that she stays in camp while he go and find Gaea to battle her. Nothing is going to be accomplished except for Percy getting himself killed. The very thing Annabeth was trying to avoid.

_But what should I do?_ Annabeth once prided herself in the way that she could always be perfectly in control of everything. But not now. _This is Percy we're talking about._ She was abandoned all her life. First, it was her mother, who left her on her father's doorstep, unable to raise her in Olympus. Then it was her father and her stepmother, who viewed her as a freak, a monster.

Things were better when she finally met Luke and Thalia. But both of them were gone, one by one. Thalia was sacrificed and Luke turned into a traitor, breaking her heart into tiny little pieces.

But Percy never left her. Not even when he was offered immortality. Immortality… Who could refuse that? But Percy did.

For her.

And she is definitely going to return the favor by saving his life.

Annabeth picked up the crushed panda and the tools Gaea left her.

Moments later, Annabeth got onto the ship that she had been on for the last -few days, and went into the control room. She spread the blueprint on the wooden floor of the control room, looking for inconspicuous places that she could take a few screws off without being noticed that easily.

_I shouldn't be doing this._ But Annabeth already made up her mind, and nothing is going to affect her decision that easily.

Although Athena's children are known to be only strategists and architects instead of builders, Annabeth gained plenty of experiences working with blueprints on Olympus as its official architect before it got shut off unexpectedly. _And before she was awarded by that darn gift from her mother._

_Focus._ She told herself. It was not the time for self-pitying. From her pocket, she got out her New York Yankees cap—another gift from her mother, and put it on her head in case anyone came wondering this way.

Then if Octavian, _that little rat_, comes, she wouldn't be in the spotlight for being accused for exactly what she was about to do. It's not like Gaea is his biggest fan either, because she was the one who provided Annabeth the panda. She called him an 'annoying puppet', one with a sickly sweet demeanor who wanted to act as her humble servant. Annabeth already got to know him through Gaea's nightly visits.

Quickly, Annabeth hid the panda in 'plain sight'. Somewhere not too hidden, but just enough that anyone who wasn't looking wouldn't find it, in case someone who works for Octavian destroys the 'evidence' first before the investigation that would surely come to pass.

Then, as if she did this for a thousand times, Annabeth went and unscrewed a few bolts here and there, replaced a few, and screwed on a few more. Her work here was done.

_I seriously hope this will help Percy… And also help both of our camps, for the gods' sake._ Annabeth thought as she left the temper, extra tools and leftover screws in her hand.

She didn't notice the boy who went into the ship after she left, and the way he hurried to Jupiter's temple with Annabeth's Yankees cap in hand.

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